Susanne Kreuz
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Malmö, Sweden
Toptal member since July 8, 2020
Susanne is a seasoned UX researcher and design strategist with extensive knowledge of the end-to-end development process. From exploration to product validation, she has successfully worked on numerous projects in startups and global tech companies. With a background in psychology, she knows how to ask the right questions and make sense of complex topics. Susanne loves to collaborate in agile teams to test prototypes with users and create a strong UX vision to turn ideas into smart features.
Portfolio
Verivox—Improving the Usability of an Online Portal
Secret Escapes—Preparing A/B Testing with the Help of Usability Testing
BORM-INFORMATIK AG—Applying UX Design to Improve an ERP System
OB/CC :: Prototyping a Mobile Shopping App
BOSCH Automotive: How to Design a Design Sprint?
Work Experience
Founder
Susanne Kreuz :: UX Research, Design, and Strategy (Freelance)
- Collaborated and engaged with people from a wide background and with a different knowledge. My focus is on analysis, research, and testing for web and mobile apps. I spread the word about UX topics and methods in design-related blogs.
- Facilitated 3-5 day seminars and Google Design Sprints—onsite Europe and remote. My target group is an international audience of product and graphic designers, project managers, developers, and content writers.
- Reviewed given scenarios according to common usability heuristics for an online portal to compare service providers such as telecommunication or power suppliers and sign the best contract. For details, see the VERIVOX project in my portfolio.
- Created hypothesis and test variants for the analytics team to run quantitative A/B testing and optimize the conversion rate of the website for the German railway transport company DB. For details, see the Deutsche Bahn project in my portfolio.
- Designed an intuitive user interface and user-friendly interactions for a B2B Salesforce web app for the travel industry. For details, see the Kaptio project in my portfolio.
- Trained and skilled up a web agency's team with UX methods, guided them through the conception process, and innovated ideas for the interaction and interface design of two new mobile consumer apps. For details, see the OB//CC project in my portfolio.
- Redesigned a mobile consumer app and invented a new concept and information architecture.
- Identified pain points in a big telecommunication eCommerce shop and order process with the help of an expert review. My recommendations helped product managers and concepters to improve the user experience and developers to fix bugs.
Senior UX Designer
BORM-Informatik AG, Switzerland
- Introduced human-centered design and facilitated collaborative workshops such as Google Design Sprint to make non-designers quickly familiar with iterative prototyping and testing and build the ERP and CAD system according to the user's needs.
- Defined an end-to-end process so that UX activities fit into agile development sprints. Invented the "BORM to be wild" slogan and logo to communicate and brand all UX design activities in a smart way.
- Trained customer project leads and developers in customer-centricity and provided best practices on how to create scenarios, business workflows, and processes based on storytelling and sketching.
- Analyzed the usability of shipped features and reviewed the existing UX and UI design against common usability heuristics and UX and UI design standards. Identified and prioritized issues and proposed solutions and fixes.
- Discovered personas, use cases, and user stories with the help of interviewing business experts and partners, competitor analysis, and market research.
- Discussed and prioritized requirements with the product manager and my development team. Created epics and user stories in Jira and refined stories regularly by breaking content into smaller tasks to plan sprints and develop features accordingly.
- Ideated solutions, and prototyped and tested flows and interactions for a new digital creditor workflow that supports Swiss QR codes. The paperless process enables accountants, project leads, and managing directors to control and pay invoices.
- Developed the BORM UX vision, created a UX strategy, and built a goal-oriented roadmap. Provided five guiding principles to unify the design of all products and devices, and guarantee one consistent and seamless user experience.
- Involved partners from the timber industry in the early stage of the product design process and validated design ideas by user testing of comic style concepts, user flows, and wireframes. Moderated (remote) usability tests of interactive prototypes.
- Invented a project poster with a structured approach, addressing problem-oriented questions to identify user groups, their needs, and tasks. The goal was to ensure that business requirements were user-centered, transparent, and understood.
UX Researcher
Crowdhouse AG, Zurich, Switzerland
- Created interview guidelines and conducted qualitative interviews with people selling real estate, such as private house owners, semi-professional investors, and professional brokers.
- Set up in-house and remote usability tests for people selling real estate. Applied guerrilla methods and conducted hallway tests with internal colleagues to collect feedback on the relaunched website.
- Recruited end-users to learn about the Swiss real estate market through customer-facing events and a landing page. Worked together with an external agency to recruit test users for persona interviews.
- Facilitated workshops with the product owner and my squad team to ideate new features for the web platform. Collected assumptions and hypotheses to write user stories and create the product roadmap.
- Created reports to share my research findings and presented insights to the English-speaking product team. Translated content and helped to build a bridge with the Swiss German-speaking business team.
- Gathered information from stakeholders and created a customer journey of private people selling a multi-apartment house.
- Developed a process to integrate user research activities into my squad team's agile UX design process and roll out in the company.
- Discovered and tested research tools to professionally manage the user research pool and researcher's activities.
Senior Information Developer
SAP SE, Walldorf/Baden, Germany
- Innovated user assistance and created a proof of concepts with my products and innovations team. Worked closely with product owners, UX design strategists, and business data analysts in an agile environment to match people's needs and expectations.
- Designed an additional layer that integrates contextual help on the SaaS UI to support users best after discovering that people struggled when using web apps built on SAP HANA Cloud.
- Managed a team of information developers located in Germany, the UK, and Canada, while the agile development teams were located around the globe.
- Created a workstream in Jira and contributed the know-how to an internal wiki to exchange information and make decisions transparent while communicating with people across many cultures and time zones.
- Defined the terminology, reviewed UI texts, and created online help. I migrated content to XML and restructured topics and guides according to the new information architecture and authoring guidelines.
- Created and published several case studies about UX design, strategy, and design thinking methods on their website.
Founder
Edox Technical Communication, Heidelberg, Germany (Freelance)
- Documented complex business software for global companies such as SAP, their partners, and customers. I created structured content according to the user's goals and applied a personalized, conversational communication style.
- Helped product and development teams remotely and onsite to improve their documentation deliverables and processes. I have tested, chosen, and implemented many content management systems to automate online publishing.
- Contributed with content to large websites and supported relaunch projects by simplifying the language and navigation. I created marketing material for newsletters and landing pages.
- Strengthened relationships with journalists and discovered new media channels. I helped to grow the market for products such as INGRADA, a geographical information system for professionals and citizens.
- Interviewed stakeholders and researched information about digital products and trends. My articles and advertorials have regularly been published in print and online, in special interest magazines and web portals.
Technical Writer Software
ibo Software GmbH Wettenberg, Germany
- Documented business software for different target groups such as end-users and consultants. Created and published online help and manuals, FAQs, installation guides, and release notes.
- Worked closely with business and end-users from the industry to define the terminology and information architecture. Consulted translators to ensure a good match with other languages.
- Developed a style guide for authors to ensure consistency in wording and brand language.
- Explored several content management systems to transform the authoring process from print to online publishing and created a SWOT analysis to choose the best.
- Created training material and reference cards for key users in the financial industry.
Education
Master's Degree in Art History, Psychology, European Ethnology
Philipps University - Marburg, Germany
Coursework in Art History, Psychology
Justus Liebig University - Gießen, Germany
Certifications
UX Designer
CareerFoundry, Berlin, Germany
Technical Writer
Technical Academy, Esslingen, Germany
Publishing Assistant/Marketing
Klett WBS, Frankfurt, Germany
Skills
Tools
Microsoft Office, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Confluence, Miro, Balsamiq Mockups, Axure RP Pro, Jira, Slack, Balsamiq, Lookback, Prototyping on Paper (POP), Usertesting.com, Figma Component Library, Microsoft PowerPoint, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Sketch, Optimizely, Manufacturing
Platforms
Adobe Suite, Microsoft, Figma, Axure, Web, Salesforce, Mobile, WordPress, SharePoint, Dovetail
Industry Expertise
Banking & Finance, Education Technology (Edtech), Real Estate
Languages
HTML, XML
Other
SaaS Design, eCommerce, Hypothesis Testing, Iterative Design, Planning, Product Discovery, Requirements, Product Vision, Kanban, Scrum, Content Management Systems (CMS), Teams, UX Audits, UI Design, Remote Usability Testing, Expert Reviews, Portals, Heuristic Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation, User Feedback, Software as a Service (SaaS), Low-fidelity Mockups, Process Flows, Screenflows, Design Validation, Personalization, Cognitive Walkthroughs, Conceptual Design, Training, UX Strategy, Qualitative Research, UX Pattern Design, Story Mapping, UX Workshops, Jobs to be Done (JTBD), Research Synthesis, User Flows, Training & Training Content Development, Information Architecture (IA), UX Design, Google Design Sprints, User Research, Content Strategy, SEO Content, Usability, Remote Work, User Testing, Usability Testing, Remote User Testing, Lean UX, Lean Research, Lean Development, Agile, Agile UX, Agile Transformation, Agile Software Development, Agile Project Management, Human-centered Design (HCD), User-centered Design (UCD), Service Design, Design Thinking, A/B Testing, User Stories, Task Flows, Wireframing, Style Guides, Usability Guidelines, Guidelines, Low-fidelity Prototypes, High-fidelity Prototypes, Customer Research, Customer Analysis, Journey Mapping, User Journey Maps, Shopper Journeys, Product Journeys, Personas, User Personas, User Requirements, Business Requirements, System Requirements, Requirements & Specifications, Analysis, UX Analysis, Data Analysis, Interviewing, Interviews, User Interviews, Stakeholder Interviews, Client Interviews, Customer Interviews, User Journeys, User Experience (UX), Content Marketing, Prototyping, Paper Prototyping, Workshop Facilitation, UX Research, Quantitative User Research, Ideation, Ideation Workshops, Product Design, Design Workshops, Customer Journeys, CX Strategy, Customer Experience, User Surveys, Qualitative Reports, Customer Discovery, Research, Persona Design, Design Systems, Content, Mobile Design, UX Wireframes, Design Sprints, User Validation, Quantitative Research, Research Reports, Workshops, Surveys, Innovation, Product Strategy, Web UX, Design Research, SaaS, Strategy, Instructional Design, Navigation, Intranets, Information Systems, Learning, Roadmaps, Empathy Mapping, Employee Experience, Digital Transformation, Publishing, Curriculum Design, Curriculum Development, Vendor Selection, Digital Publishing, Curriculum Development & Delivery, Web App Design, Onboarding, Rapid Interactive Prototyping, Dashboard Design, Web UI, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Writing & Editing, User Behavior, System Process Mapping, Flow Diagrams, Discovery Workshops, Responsive Web Apps, Web App UX, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Fintech, App Design, Rapid Prototyping, Mobile UX Design, Digital Product Design, Stakeholder Management, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI), B2B, Web App UI, Sitemaps, Process Optimization, UX Mentoring, Competitive Analysis, Market Research & Analysis, Market Research, eCommerce UX, Login & Registration, Data Synthesis, Process Mapping, Experience Maps, Design Reviews, Creative Strategy, Design Leadership, Web Application Design, Edtech Design, Enterprise SaaS, Web Design, SAP, Click Dummies, Interaction Design (IxD), Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Apps, Mockups, Design Guidelines, Mobile Prototypes, Interactive Prototypes, Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), Business Analysis, Online Surveys, UX Prototyping, Visual Design, Mobile App Design, ServiceNow, Investing, Branding, User Interface (UI), Material Design, Team Leadership, App UX, Conversational UX, Notion, Gravity Forms
Experience
- Prototyping - 15 years
- Usability Testing - 15 years
- SaaS Design - 13 years
- Workshop Facilitation - 10 years
- Product Vision - 10 years
- User Research - 10 years
- User Journeys - 10 years
- Figma - 8 years
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